&nbsp&nbspRe:Causes of Waterloo&nbsp-&nbspM.Jefferis, 10/10/2002 00:40:53 &nbsp&nbsp Through brilliant tactical manouvering, Napoleon managed to split Wellington and Blucher's armies in Belgium, with the intention of annihilating Blucher at Ligny and then moving on to Brussels to face Wellington. Napoleon sent Marshal Ney to capture the crossroads at Quatre Bras (lightly defended by the British) who was then supposed to wheel around and attack the Prussian Army flank while Napoleon attacked from the front. Unfortunately, Ney got bogged down in furious fighting at Quatre Bras and Blucher's forces were able to escape from Ligny under cover of darkness before Napoleon could finish them. Napoleon then turned his attention to Quatre Bras, but Wellington had already learned of Blucher's retreat and pulled the British forces back to preprepared defensive positions at Mont St Jean which lay just outside a small town called Waterloo.